FRS 002J —
Sec. 001 —
(2 units) — CRN 45505 — T 2:10 - 4:00 pm — 245 AOB4
Influence In Action
Instructor: Catherine Puckering, Department of Communication, College
of Letters and Science
Description: The theme of the proposed freshman
seminar is persuasion
and social influence in action. Course material will include a review of some
of the most important compliance tactics used to get us to say,
“yes.”
As a communication-related seminar, focus will be on the style and content of
influential messages we encounter on a daily basis. A range of topics will be
explored, including reciprocation, consistency, social proof, liking,
authority,
and scarcity. We will consider how we use these concepts in our own persuasive
attempts and how these concepts are used by advertisers and businesses to get
us to purchase their products and services, by politicians to
influence our votes,
by health professionals to get us to engage in healthier lifestyles
and by family
and friends to get us to accept their opinions and values. Participants in the
proposed seminar will view and analyze real-life examples of
persuasive messages.
The primary goals of the seminar will be to provide participants with knowledge
about influence strategies they encounter on a regular basis, an understanding
of how to create more effective persuasive messages, and strategies to resist
unwanted influence attempts.
Format: The first seven meetings will include mini-lectures by
the instructor, small group exercises designed to provide students
with an opportunity
to apply concepts, and brief video presentations. These meetings will
be structured
around the material presented in Robert Cialdini’s book, Influence:
Science and Practice. The remaining three classes will be
reserved for discussion
of students’ individual research projects. Students will attend
a two hour
seminar once per week for the 10 week duration of the course. In the
first seven
weeks of the course students will be expected to spend approximately
three hours
per week reading the assigned material and gathering examples for
class discussion
and one hour per week gathering materials for their research projects. By the
eighth week of the course, it is expected that students, in regular
consultation
with the instructor, will spend their time researching and preparing either: 1)
a portfolio of persuasive messages and accompanying analyses of those messages
or 2) an original persuasive message that incorporates an accurate
understanding
of current research. Grading: There will be
two, equally
weighted grade components. They will include: 1) a participation grade based on
regular and meaningful contributions to course activities and discussions and,
in particular, presentation of their individual research project and
2) the research
project described above.
About the Instructor: